Requiem
by sigmakutie
Summary: ...I didn't really think of a summary to share, but I guess all you have to know is it's R/K, T, and there is much lovlies to be had... Oh! also, R&R! Hugs, 0.0 Sigma.
1. Fight

**Requiem**

Chapter 1

"Richard!" Kahlan screamed her love's name in a futile attempt to distract the men long enough for Richard to escape from his bindings and kill them all. But, as she already knew, it was futile.

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They were setting up camp when they were ambushed. An arrow sailed through the air and tore through the flesh of Kahlan's leg. In the next instant, some sixty to seventy men jumped from the bushes surrounding the clearing, along with ten other Mord-Sith that came from over the hill only minutes later. They sashayed directly over to Zedd and Cara. They had never been ambushed by this many men… or Mord-Sith for that matter. Three of the Mord-Sith incapacitated Zedd by poking him in the back and shoulder as if he were cattle and kept Cara busy with the other seven, as they knew she would be harder to handle. They still got Cara to the ground and away from her weapons; they bound her hands and lay her on her stomach, with Zedd beside her in a similar manner, only his fingers were bound as well.

Richard had continued to fight the men that came at him, his sword ringing in the air as he cut down the men as best he could, but when they charged at him, they knocked his sword from his hand, slicing at his arms with their blades and binding him to the tree that they cornered him against.

Kahlan had tried fighting but it was hard to move with an arrow sticking out of her leg. She tried to kick a solider square in the chest but he caught her leg and twisted her around. He grabbed the end of the arrow and twisted it in her leg. Kahlan let out a cry of agony as the hilt of the bolt broke off in the man's hand. She collapsed onto the ground and the man dropped her leg; then at least ten other men joined the man that incapacitated her and all of them drew their swords… pointed directly at her.

So there she lay, her companions all bound and powerless, she screamed at her love as the blades above her poked at her delicate pale flesh, some drawing blood. She leaned against the log behind her with her arms up in a non-defensive manner. One of the men on her left knelt beside her, laying his sword off to the side; as he reached for her right hand to bind her wrists, she grabbed his fat neck with her left. The soundless thunder-clap of magic boomed around them as she set her powers free. The men stalled for only a moment but then they started to swing their swords at her. One man tried lunging at her, but it was a mistake on his part. She grabbed his scrawny neck and released her powers. Another clap of soundless thunder made everyone still again. Before she had the title Mother Confessor she couldn't Confess one man without her powers completely draining her, now she could Confess three men and only feel a little faint. She used the stall to grab her fallen daggers and, along with her two Confessed, fought her way through the crowd until she was able to get to Richard. She bounded across the clearing over to the big tree his arms were wrapped around; she cut the binding and ran to his side.

She tried to pick him up but he stopped her. "No, Kahlan, go help Zedd and Cara, I'm fine."

"Richard," She started, grabbing his upper arms, mindful of the gashes the men left, but he swatted her hands away.

"Go! I'm fine."

Kahlan looked longingly into his eyes before running over to Cara first. She fought, or at least tried as hard as she could, but when she tried four of them got up from Cara and ran to her. But Cara could take three of them; she bucked them off her and loosened the bindings around her hands enough to pull them off. Kahlan was able to stab one of them in the heart and then slit ones throat before Confessing another. The thunder clapped a third time and the Mord-Sith fell it the ground in tears, she writhed and squirmed until Kahlan leaned over and put her out of her misery. Kahlan charged at the three Mord-Sith surrounding Zedd; she simultaneously stabbed two in the stomach, and then turned around at a sharp pain in her back. The third Mord-Sith had jabbed at her with her Agiel, but was falling over to the side in just as much pain when Cara came up behind her and subjected her to the same treatment before finally stopping her heart. Kahlan leaned over and cut the bindings on Zedd's hands.

With Zedd free, he put out both his hands and knocked all the soldiers back. The few that survived the magic got up but retreated quickly when the Captain yelled at them to fall back. The men ran up over the hill and soon the clanking of their armor could be heard no more.

Richard placed his sword back into his scabbard and walked over to the others. "Well," He stated, "that was something." He noticed Kahlan looking a little faint. He walked over to her and placed his hand on her cheek. "Kahlan?" Worry dripped from his voice as he spoke her name, "Kahlan, are you alright?"

Kahlan looked at his increasingly blurry face and shook her head. She felt the rush of wind through her hair, heard Richard yelling her name and felt him encircling her in his tight grasp before she slipped into blackness.

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Reveiws are welcomed....

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	2. Faint

**Requiem**

Chapter 2

Kahlan, ever so often, came in and out of consciousness. She would hear her name being said, and sometimes there was yelling, and there were two foreign voices, voices she didn't recognize. Eventually she found the strength to moan and open her eyes. When she did open her eyes she was met by a beautiful pair of green eyes. Richard stared back at her with endearment. "Kahlan," he spoke her name with relief and worry dripping from it, "You're finally awake."

"She's awake!" A foreign voice yelled.

"Our mistress is awake!" Yet another foreign voice sounded.

She wanted to look at the faces to whom the voices belonged to but she didn't have the strength to lift her head… plus she was lost in the vastness that was Richard's eyes. Richard pulled his eyes away from the woman below him to yell at the voices, saying she was tired, she needed rest, and then she heard Cara make a snarky comment about sleeping long enough. That's when she sat up. Richard tried to settle her back down but she shook his hands from her shoulders. First thing that she noticed was the Sun had gone down and there was a bright fire burning in the clearing. The second thing she noticed was that she had not moved from where she had been standing when she fainted; in fact Richard had probably caught her and laid her down on his lap. Her head was in Richard's lap when she was sleeping… a smile spread across her face at his caring gesture. Then it occurred to her that the only movement he had probably made at all was shifting every so often, this was hinted to her when she noticed how sloppily made the fire was, so obviously someone, not Richard, had made the fire, and he was the one that always made it, and even if he was rushing it would still be made perfectly. She smiled again.

She heard Richard shuffling around in his bag for something then felt a warm blanket cover her shoulders. "You should keep warm, Kahlan. Stay comfortable."

She turned her head to him at that. "Thank you," she whispered, "For everything." She gave him a sweet smile. He was about to say something back but was interrupted by two men in D'Haran armor clamoring their way up to her and Richard.

"I'm so glad you're awake, Mistress!" The smaller of the two men mused.

"Command us, Mother Confessor." The one with the fat neck sounded.

She turned to Richard with an inquiring look on her face. "Did I Confess these men, Richard?"

"You don't remember?" He asked. She shook her head. "Earlier today? In this clearing?"

She pondered this for a minute or so, and then it dawned on her. Everything was coming back. The fight, Zedd and Cara and the Mord-Sith, Richard being bound to a tree. She flinched at the memory of seeing him like that. "I remember," she whispered. "My head is all foggy, is all."

"Figures," Cara snorted out, "You've slept most of the day away."

"I have? How long have I been asleep?" She turned to Richard to get the answer but Cara beat him to it.

"You fainted around mid-day, the sun set three hours ago."

"Eight hours! I've been asleep for _eight hours_!?" Kahlan turned around, back to Richard. "Why didn't you wake me?"

"I didn't want to disturb you. You looked like you needed the rest," Richard whispered.

"I suppose we ought to stay here the night," Zedd said, "It will take at least half a day to get to the nearest inn."

"No. No, we should keep moving," Kahlan moved to get up.

Richard reached out to her from his spot on the ground, "Kahlan, I don't think you should mo-" he cut his sentence short when Kahlan was on her feet and stumbling. With lightning quick reflexes, Richard caught Kahlan in a tight grasp and spun her around, dipping her low as if they were finishing a dance. Their breath hitched at the close proximity of their faces. "You aren't strong enough to travel, Kahlan. Sleep here tonight. You'll be fine."

"We'll keep you safe, Mother Confessor." The smaller man enthusiastically offered.

Kahlan looked at the two men leaning towards her as if drawn in by her presence. They had that look on their faces that all the men she Confessed got, it irked her to see the men love her when she knew she could never love them, and it hurt her more to see Richard's face as he reacted to the men's leers. "What are your names?" Kahlan asked.

The two looked at each other as if they had just been asked to be knighted by the Mother Confessor; they looked as if it was an honor for her just to speak to them. "My name is Faldy, M'lady, and this is Jude," The larger one said. "We are your humble servants." The two drew their swords and kneeled before her. She hated it when they did this. It made her feel like she forced them into making her the Queen of the New World.

"Good," Richard said, a snarky tone in his voice that usually only Cara used, "why don't you go and _humbly_ leave the Mother Confessor alone!" Richard spat at them. She had never seen Richard become so aggravated by her Confessed before.

The men were about to say something but Kahlan shot up her hand to silence them and she pulled Richard to the side. "Richard. What has gotten into you? Why are you so snide all of a sudden?"

Richard looked down in shame of his behavior, not meeting her eyes as he spoke to her. "I'm sorry, Kahlan. They wanted to wake you; they kept annoying me, telling me to wake you so they could get their orders." Kahlan lifted his head by his chin; she wanted him to look her in the eyes as he talked to her, not act like another of her Confessed. "Kahlan," he said softly, "I've never seen any of the men you've Confessed so eager to be commanded. It scares me to see them act so zealous."

Kahlan shook her head at his worry. "Richard… they're D'Haran soldiers who have been Confessed. Taking orders is all they are used to, it makes sense that's all they would want to do for me now." Kahlan went back to the men, "Why don't you go pick berries and hunt for game to keep yourselves occupied. Come back when you have enough for all of us." They nodded enthusiastically and ran off into the woods.

Richard came behind her and sat her down on the log near the fire. "Kahlan, game is very scarce in these parts. They probably won't be back for a while."

"I know," stated Kahlan, "that's why I sent them away. It hurts me to see you upset over this."

Richard smiled sweetly at her and sat next to her on the log. She contentedly laid her head on his shoulder, resting for a little while longer.

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Reviews... Please?

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	3. Know

**Requiem**

Chapter 3

Kahlan woke up the next morning to the popping cinders of the fire. She felt the warmth of the fire's remnants on her face as well as the warmth of Richard's large body curled up behind her, his muscled arm draped over her petite form. She snuggled into the warmth just a little bit more, closing her eyes at the sensation of his arm protectively tightening his grip on her waist. She turned in his grasp, facing him; when she opened her eyes she was met by his chiseled features free of stress, all calm and tranquil. When he opened his eyes, they stared into each other's for a moment before interrupted by Cara pointedly clearing her throat.

When the two lovers looked up at her they were met by her hard face and a single lifted eyebrow. "We should get moving," Cara turned to look at Zedd, though the statement was meant for the two on the ground. "We're wasting daylight. The sun has already been up for two hours, and if we want to be at the inn before sundown we need to go."

The two sat up from their lying positions just as the two men came back, the smaller one, Jude, had two rabbits slung over his shoulder while the larger one, Faldy, had a bowl of what seemed to be berries and nuts. The group turned their heads at the rustling of leaves beneath the soldiers' feet. That's when Zedd piped in, "We can leave as soon as we've eaten." Richard and Kahlan gave each other knowing smiles and Cara rolled her eyes, all of them knowing that if they didn't give Zedd the satisfaction of a full stomach they'd never hear the end of it.

Richard began stoking the fire, Cara was skinning the game, and Kahlan was getting out the plates and rinsing them with her water skin. Zedd was separating the nuts from the berries - separating half of the berries, some to be eaten raw, some to be crushed up and made as juice – and the two of Kahlan's Confessed were crushing the berries. After was all the food was made and eaten the group packed up the dishes and bed rolls and put out the fire, ready to get moving.

As they were walking on the path, Kahlan turned to the new installments in the group and asked them why their party ambushed them. "Our General, Brinson, he wants to…" Faldy trailed off. The two hung their heads in shame, not wanting to speak of what their General had in mind.

Kahlan stopped, as did everyone else. "What?" She asked. "What did he order you to do?"

Richard came up beside Faldy and spat him, "Answer the Mother Confessor!"

"Richard, please," Kahlan put a calming hand on his chest. "We're never going to get anything out of them if you scare them to death." Richard gave her an apologetic look and backed off. She tried to meet the two men's eyes, "What were you ordered to do?" Silence. "It's alright. You can tell me."

Jude lifted his head and looked at the Mother Confessor. "We were ordered to kill the last Confessor. Extinguish the line… and the Seeker's only wanted mate to reproduce." Richard and Kahlan's face went white. Richard's jaw clenched in anger, but he knew to suppress it. It wasn't their fault, even if they wanted to in the first place, it's like Kahlan said, they were ordered to.

The rest of the journey was spent in silence, not even Richard and Kahlan _thought_ of looking at each other. The thought of not being able to be with each other because of Kahlan's power made their hearts grow cold, when they thought of not being together because one, or both of them were dead… their hearts shattered in their chests. When they finally got to the inn the group purchased four room – one for Zedd, one for Cara, one for Jude and Faldy, and one for Richard and Kahlan, since it seemed that they would have less time together than they expected. And if they saved money off it, all the better in Cara's thinking.

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Reveiws make me HAPPY... and you'd like to see me happy... right???

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	4. Love

**Requiem**

Chapter 4

Kahlan tossed over and over on the straw stuffed mattress that lay beneath her. As she got around to the fiftieth toss Richard sat up. "Kahlan…" he said in a disquieted tone.

"I'm sorry Richard," she said ruefully. "I'm just…" She trailed off.

"You're just worried. I am too." He placed a hand onto her neck, running his thumb over her chin and the side of her face. His touch was enough to bring tears to Kahlan's eyes. She tried to blink them away in a vain attempt to make herself seem stronger, but she can never fake in front of Richard, he always brings her deepest emotions to the surface, especially the ones she tries most to hide. "Shh…" he pronounced tenderly. He kissed her forehead and leaned her head onto his chest, kissing her soft hair. "Kahlan, I'm here, and so are you. We're both going to be here for a long time. Brinson won't be successful. He'll fail, just like everyone who tries to kill us does. Just because he says he will doesn't mean he'll actually kill us."

"Richard, he is _very_ powerful. He has _Mord-Sith_ on his side. They don't just follow anyone, they're very selective. If they believe that he can actually take us down… than he _must_ be powerful." She sobbed into his chest. He hated seeing her like this, but there was nothing more for him to say… so he let her cry. When she stopped crying she lay on him for a while longer, he thought that she might have fallen asleep but when she said his name and he looked into her beryl orbs… he saw something in them that he had only seen when they shared longing glances across the campfire, when they trotted their horses aside the river beds, and when he caught her staring at him as he practiced swinging his sword at the fruits Zedd conjured, when he had no shirt on: Lust. It wasn't just love that he saw, it had that hint of sexual desire, that desire that he felt all the same, like whenever she announced that she was going to the river to bathe, his mind jumped to when he saw her bathing beside the river that one time. Her damp locks draped over her back, the fresh water droplets that adorned her perfect, flawless porcelain skin, glinting as the sunlight hit at just the right angle…. "Richard… take to bed with me."

Her words shook him from his reverie. _Take to bed with me…._ The words echoed in his head. He shook his head, as if shaking away all of the clouds that were fogging up his mind away. "Kahlan," he shuddered out, his resolve was melting away expeditiously. He pushed her off of him and jumped from the bed in a startled affectedness.

A hurt demeanor spread across her face before she crawled seductively across the bed, leaning over granting Richard a full view of her bosom as the tops of her breasts spilled over her forest green corset. "Richard," she whined as she reached out for him. He sped to the other side of the room; he leaned against the desk that had their belongings placed on it. He had his back to her, careening onto the table, trying to gain his composure back when she snuck up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. He jumped at the contact, turning around to meet her eyes. They weren't as full of lust; they were now shadowed over by guilt and trepidation. "Richard… don't you love me?"

His heart broke as she asked that question. "Of course I do!" He declared quickly.

"Then… then why won't you make love to me?"

"Because, Kahlan, I-I just can't."

Kahlan backed away as something – a terrible thought – happened upon her mind. "You're afraid."

_Oh, Spirits just kill me now!_ "Kahlan! No, I'm not afr-" He reached for her.

"Yes you are!" She backed away, "You're afraid that I'll Confess you! You're just like the rest of them!"

His heart broke for a third time in just two minutes. "No…" he barely whispered it. "No. Kahlan, I can't be afraid of being Confessed by you when I'm already your willing slave."

"Then why won't you!" She seethed. "Look!" She reached behind him and pulled her bag to her. She reached in and pulled out a silver band – the Rada'Han. His eyes widened at the sight of it, just like Kahlan's did when she first saw it. She got it not two hours ago. Zedd had come to her while Cara and Richard were quietly drinking from the ale they had purchased from the barmaid. He said that they deserved to have a chance to be happy, especially after the news received earlier in the day. "We can be safe if I have it on. So why won't you make love to me?

"Because…" He had to take this delicately. If he upset her, it's possible she might go into the Con'Dar. "Because, Kahlan… you're a very strong minded woman – and that's one of the things I love most about you, your independence – and if I bed you tonight, when you've just gotten information like this, when you're upset… it will only make you more upset. Because then you'll have to admit that you gave into being vulnerable."

"But I can do that with you – and that's one of the things that I love most about you! I can _be_ vulnerable around you!" She reasoned.

"Not like this." He walked toward her, when he reached her he put his hand on her face and took the Rada'Han from her, it clattered as it hit the desk and rolled onto the floor. "Kahlan, if I make love to you, you'll be admitting defeat… at least to yourself. And I can't destroy you, not for anything, not even if I get to hold you in my arms, even for just one night. I love you too much to do that to you."

She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I knew there was a reason I loved you so much."

He smiled at her, gathering her into his arms and kissing her so profusely they almost completely ran out of oxygen. He lifted Kahlan off the ground and laid her onto the bed. "Kahlan," he whispered, "I would like to marry you."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"I want to marry you, Kahlan Amnell. I want to make a life with you. Have children with you, many daughters, and I want to raise them all to be just like their mother. I'll escort you to Aydindril and we can be married there. And on the night of our marriage, you can wear the Rada'Han and we can _finally_ consummate our love." She stared at him as though he walked out of a dream. "So… Kahlan, what do you say? Will you be my wife?"

"Yes! Yes, of course I will!" She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. They kissed all over, all through the night, until they were so tired they just fell asleep in each other's arms.

The last words they uttered to each other before they met each other again in their dreams were, "I love you…."

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Okay, kiddies, I need you to sound off. I'd like very much to write a sequel of this, but I need you to tell me if you would like me to write more. This was actually one of my favorite chaps to write because I think it really got into the heart of the R/K 'ship. If you'd like to see more of the heart-seeking-R/K-'shipperness, review and tell me. If not... well, then... still reviw and tell me.

Hugs and many thanks,

0.0 Sigma

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